On TV With His Wife, a Softer, Gentler Dean

By JODI WILGOREN

Published: January 23, 2004

Correction Appended

MANCHESTER, N.H., Jan. 22 — Howard Dean said he is just another hockey dad. His wife of 23 years, Judith Steinberg Dean, said she cannot remember the last time he lost his temper. She said he's "a good dancer." He said "she's a lot smarter than I am."

Nestled on a formal sofa in a quaint Vermont inn, fingers intertwined, the couple appeared in their first nationally televised interview Thursday in an effort to revive Dr. Dean's embattled presidential campaign by reassuring the public that his emotional outburst after a disappointing third-place finish in Iowa's caucuses was an anomaly. As Diane Sawyer of ABC News showed the screech heard 'round the political world for the umpteenth time, Mrs. Dean looked lovingly at her husband, and let out a little giggle.

"He just doesn't get that angry," Mrs. Dean, 50, told Ms. Sawyer in the segment broadcast on "Primetime Thursday." "I mean, he doesn't. You know, he just, he's very kind, very considerate, and, it just doesn't happen."

Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, acknowledged on the program that his performance Monday night was not "presidential," but said he was not "apologetic."

"Was it over the top? Sure it was over the top," Dr. Dean told Ms. Sawyer. "Do I do things that are a little nutty? Sure, I do things that are a little nutty.

"Last night, I went to a hockey game, my son got an assist on the first goal, I went `Yahoo,' and jumped up in the air," he added. "That's presidential? Probably not. So, I'm a dad, I'm a human being, I'm going to keep being a dad and a human being."

The interview on "Primetime," whose Thursday night viewership averaged 8.6 million this fall, came as Dr. Dean's staff and supporters struggled to resuscitate an ailing campaign and halt his dive in the polls. It was reminiscent of Bill and Hillary Clinton's post-Super Bowl appearance on the CBS program "60 Minutes," in the 1992 campaign, as Mr. Clinton's candidacy was engulfed by rumors of infidelity. Mr. Clinton took second in the New Hampshire primary two weeks later and went on to win the nomination.

In a fit of self-deprecation, Dr. Dean also read the "Top 10 Ways I, Howard Dean, Can Turn Things Around" on "The Late Show" with David Letterman on CBS Thursday night. No. 2:

"Fire the staffer who suggested that we do this lousy Top 10 List instead of actually campaigning." No. 1: "Oh, I don't know, maybe fewer crazy, red-faced rants?"

On "Primetime," Mrs. Dean sat, smiling wide, in a brick-red sweater set, as her husband fielded most of Ms. Sawyer's questions, on topics including Saddam Hussein and the couple's first date. The pair explained their respect for each other's careers — she is a physician in private practice who has rarely joined her husband in political events — emphasized their commitment to their two children, discussed the current low point of the campaign, and generally tried to look as normal as possible.

"I learned a long time ago that all you have in your life is your family," said Dr. Dean, who described his wife as "a real life partner" and a friend. "My marriage and my family's the most important thing to me. More important than being president.""

Mrs. Dean said she had not watched her husband's Iowa concession speech live, and had seen the clip only once before Thursday's taping. "I thought it looked kind of silly," she said, then quickly added, "but I thought it looked O.K."

Wearing lipstick and blusher — unusual for her — Mrs. Dean said she expects her hair and clothes would be criticized if her husband were elected, noting, "I don't really care too much what I wear." Asked about the unromantic gift of a rhododendron bush for Mrs. Dean's 50th birthday, Dr. Dean joked it was only her 39th, and Mrs. Dean told of their family tradition of a birthday bike ride with squished cupcakes in a knapsack.

"I'm not a very thing person," she said.

Network correspondents and executives have been in heated competition for months to score an interview with the couple, as Mrs. Dean's lack of involvement in her husband's bid for the White House became a topic of public discussion. She made her debut on the campaign trail just four days ago, introducing herself at two rallies in Iowa.

In scheduling the interview immediately after the candidates' final debate before next Tuesday's primary here, aides hoped to exploit the national fascination with Dr. Dean's speech Monday to show their man's softer side.

It was a continuation of the new campaign tack unveiled earlier Thursday at a pair of town-hall meetings, where a scratchy-throated, stuffy-nosed Dr. Dean laughed off his Monday night performance, saying: "I have still not recovered my voice from my screeching in Iowa." "Look, I'm not a perfect person, I've got plenty of warts," Dr. Dean said between coughing spasms and sips from a mug of hot water at the Lebanon forum, where he received numerous ovations. "I say things that get me in trouble. I wear suits that are cheap. But I say what I think, and I believe what I say, and I'm willing to say things that are not popular, but that ordinary people know are right.

"In other words," he added, "I lead with my heart and not my head."

This theme was echoed in a new advertisement, called "Leader," which shows former President Jimmy Carter praising Dr. Dean last weekend as "outspoken and courageous," and began airing here Thursday.

Throughout the day, the candidate promoted his background as a doctor and a governor, in contrast to the opponents he sees as "Washington insiders," all in a quieter — at times, inaudible — tone. He barely mentioned the war in Iraq, once his signature issue, instead focusing on balanced budgets, health insurance, his willingness to stake out unpopular positions, and the communal nature of his campaign.

But if Dr. Dean was trying to, as he said, "be who I am," he seemed unsure of himself, often forcibly restraining his rhetorical impulses.

As he has a thousand times before, he listed the industrialized countries that have the universal health insurance the United States lacks — but failed to conclude with his favorite part, "Even the Costa Ricans have health insurance for all their people and so should we!" He skipped his usual closer about the biggest lie that politicians tell voters — promises to solve all their problems — and its climax in his campaign motto, "You have the power."

Other campaign changes are also afoot behind the scenes. Gina Glantz, who joined the campaign as a senior adviser traveling with the candidate after the Service Employees International Union, where she was political director, endorsed Dr. Dean, has left the road show to work in the field.

And Mrs. Dean, who skipped an afternoon of house calls and paperwork to film the "Primetime" interview Thursday, may come to New Hampshire this weekend — despite Dr. Dean's repeated assurances that he would not use his politically uninterested wife as a prop on the trail.

"Do you feel like a prop, dear?" Dr. Dean asked her on "Primetime."

"No," she responded. "Howard asked me to do this interview, and I did."

Correction: Jan. 24, 2004, Saturday

A front-page article yesterday about Howard Dean's shift in tone and other changes in his campaign, including a new assignment for a top aide, Gina Glantz, misstated her title at the Service Employees International Union, from which she is on leave. She is assistant to the president for strategic issues and political action, not political director.